Giannis Antetokounmpo broke Milwaukee’s career assists record before leaving the game because of a sprained right wrist as the Bucks won their 12th straight NBA game, beating the Chicago Bulls 112-100.
Brook Lopez scored a season-high 33 points. Jevon Carter had 22, and Jrue Holiday added 15 points and nine assists.
The Bucks were never seriously threatened.
But Antetokounmpo’s injury early in the second quarter cast a cloud over a team that appeared to have so much going for it heading into the All-Star break.
The two-time MVP was hurt trying to block a finger roll attempt by Chicago’s Coby White after the guard drove past him.
He jammed his wrist against the stanchion and stayed down grimacing in pain.
Antetokounmpo finished with a season-low two points and three assists, giving him 3274 over 10 seasons to break Paul Pressey’s record of 3272 from 1982 to 1990.
He also had seven rebounds.
Antetokounmpo matched the assists mark when he fed Lopez for a 3-pointer two minutes into the game and broke it when he passed to Carter for another 3 that bumped Milwaukee’s lead to 19-10 in the first quarter.
He also is the Bucks’ career leader in blocks, triple-doubles, free throws made, free throws attempted and minutes.
The Bulls lost their sixth in a row, their worst skid since dropping six straight in the 2020-21 season. Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 16 rebounds.
Bradley Beal had 13 of his 35 points over the final four minues 30 seconds as Washington overcame a 20-point deficit to beat Minnesota 114-106.
Kyle Kuzma – who had 16 points on just 6-for-21 shooting – swished a top-of-the-key fadeaway for a 107-106 lead that was Washington’s first of the game with 1:14 to go.
Beal, who topped the 30-point mark for the third time in four games, followed with a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left – after a miss by Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards – to make it 110-106.
Paul George and Terance Mann each scored 26 points as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 116-107 in the final game before the All-Star break.
Source: AP
